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Level of Difficulty
Attributing a particular level of difficulty to an orchestral piece is awkward!
A piece may be easy for the strings but difficult for the brass; it may feature a tricky instrumental solo but the other parts may be relatively straight forward. A number of the arrangements listed are designed to simplify works to some extent but composers of many original works featured did not consider difficulty when writing them.
What our levels mean:
A = for players up to UK Grade 3
B = Grade 3 to 5
C = Grade 4 to 6
D = Grade 5 to 7
E = Grade 6 to 8
F = Grade 7 and over
Our gradings should be taken only as a rough guide.
To be sure if a piece is suitable for you, take a look at the score.

Scott Joplin (18671917) was an American composer and pianist. He achieved fame for his unique ragtime compositions, and was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his brief career, Joplin wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first pieces, the "Maple Leaf Rag", became ragtime's first and most influential hit, and has been recognized as the archetypal rag.Here then is the "Maple Leaf Rag" and his "Ragtime Dance" in a splendid orchestration by Peter Lawson. Although the original notation of "Maple Leaf Rag" shows it as a straight quaver feel in 2/4 time, Joplin himself played it in a swing style, so this orchestration is in 2/2 time with a triplet syncopated feel in an attempt to get it closer to the style he had in mind. The "Ragtime Dance", in contrast, is a straight "Stop Time Two Step".

Duration 7 minutesA PACK comprises an A4 sized full score plus a complete set of parts including strings 4/4/3/4/2.

Audio Sample

Click the play button below to hear a performance which has been computer-generated from the score.